Thu Jun 25, 2015 8:55am EDT
By Alastair Sharp, Reuters Canada
TORONTO … Canadian cable television provider Shaw Communications Inc SJRb.TO reported an 8 percent fall in third-quarter profit on Thursday and said it would likely reach the lower end of its full-year operating income target.Calgary-based Shaw, which competes with Telus Corp T.TO for customers in Canada’s West, said it lost more than 27,000 television subscribers across cable and satellite and almost 21,000 landline telephone accounts. It added around 7,200 new Internet customers.”We view these results as neutral-to-slightly negative for the shares,” RBC Capital Markets analyst Drew McReynolds wrote in a note, pointing to the weak subscriber metrics.Shaw decided several years ago against building a wireless business to go with its landline phone, Internet and television products, which hurt the company as mobile data use exploded.
On Wednesday a multicompany deal was announced, with Shaw receiving C$100 million for its wireless airwaves.
Chief Executive Officer Brad Shaw said the company should hit its full-year targets, with operating income before restructuring costs and amortization expected at the lower end of its 5 percent to 7 percent forecast and free cash flow expected to exceed C$650 million.
Shaw’s net income slipped to C$209 million ($169 million), or 42 Canadian cents per share, from C$228 million, or 47 Canadian cents per share, a year earlier.
Revenue rose almost 6 percent to C$1.42 billion, which the company ascribed mostly to its new business services division.
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Recently received my latest Shaw bill……advising me in August it will increase by $7. Guess they’ve got to make up for the lost customers. I don’t watch much tv anymore…..maybe I will seriously think about cancelling. The ol’ straw that broke the camel’s back.
Right with you, Gary. I’m waiting to see what this new $25 basic package will be like and how much extra my sports channels will cost before I make my move…
A consideration for us all, is to remember that Shaw are ONLY brokers of other people’s content…
The biggest savings for me in the Chilliwack area was to keep their internet, and trash their overly duplicated syndicated mostly US content for TV…
I have taken my TV’s settings and put them over to antenna/air and now I receive on “RABBIT EARS” – 2 stations from KVOS Bellingham and Global BBY (8)… these three stations are: Network news, Global; Entertainment, old series and some local coverage for the Cascadia region, and KVOS – 2, composed of all movies from the last 80 years…
ALL ELSE WITH NETFLIX and OTHER INTERNET MATERIAL…
WHAT ELSE, apart from specialty program needs, DO WE NEED??
The current world news is starting to point out that the very large companies are starting to produce their own content for internet distribution, and that means TV HAS A “SUNSET” FRONT COMING TO ERODE TO EXTINCTION these old methods of connecting with the wants and educated needs of societies all over the world…
JUST SAYIN’… IT IS A CONSIDERATION FOR US TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE CONTENT BROADCAST OVER THE AIR WAVES… FOR FREE ESSENTIALLY…
GIVE IT A TRY…